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Police clean up after fire

An investigation is underway in Portsmouth to find out what sparked a fire in the shooting range in the basement of the Police Department on Tuesday night.

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Updated: 5:58 PM EDT Jul 31, 2013

Police clean up after fire

An investigation is underway in Portsmouth to find out what sparked a fire in the shooting range in the basement of the Police Department on Tuesday night.

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Updated: 5:58 PM EDT Jul 31, 2013

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WEBVTT A MASSIVE CLEANUP IS UNDERWAY. WE ARE JOINED LIVE WHERE SHE LOOKED AT THE DAMAGE TODAY. CHEMICALS LIKE CYANIDE AND CARBON MONOXIDE LEVELS ARE MEASURED ON EVERY FLOOR OF THE BUILDING BEFORE ANYBODY WAS ALLOWED TO RE-ENTER. OVER 80 OF THESE BIG INDUSTRIAL FANS WERE HARD AT WORK WHILE THE CLEANUP BEGAN. I DID TAKE A LOOK AT THE SHOOTING RANGE AND IT IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT FOR EMPLOYEES, THE IMPACT IS GOING TO BE FELT FOR QUITE AWHILE. FIREFIGHTERS WERE RELIEVED TO CONTAIN A BASEMENT FIRE IN THE SHOOTING RANGE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE HEAVY BLACK SMOKE, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT THINGS COME IN YOUR MIND. WHERE IS THIS SPREADING? IS IT COMBUSTIBLES? SMOLDERING BACKSTOPS WITH FLAMES. WHAT HAD BEEN USING IT EARLIER IN THE NIGHT AND WE DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS ANYTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH IT. THE CLEAN UP INCLUDES GUTTING THE ENTIRE RANGE. EVERY SURFACE MUST BE CLAIMED. A MASSIVE IMPACT FOR US, UNFORTUNATELY. THE STUFF THAT ACTUALLY BURNS CAUSE AS A LEVEL OF TOXICITY. OUR RANGE IS IN THE LOCKER ROOM, SO ALL OF THEIR UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT NEED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED. WE HAVE OFFICERS OUT TODAY. WE WILL TRY AND MAKE THEM LOOK AS PROFESSIONAL AS POSSIBLE. THAT IS THE ONLY IMPACT THE PUBLIC SHOULD SEE. THEY'RE WORKING TO DETERMINE THE EXACT CAUSE. IF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE USE OF